Slog AM: Republican Party in Washington sues over recount, father of Georgia shooter arrested, Bellevue Art Museum dead

Washington GOP sues King County election official: The primary race for Public Lands Commissioner became so heated that state Republicans are filing a lawsuit. After a recount, Democrat Dave Upthegrove beat Republican Suehl Pederson by just 51 votes. State Republicans believe an online tool that allows voters to fix ballot problems such as signature challenges influenced the election outcome. The lawsuit against King County Elections Director Julie Wise alleges she “failed to ensure that voter information submitted through the app was adequately protected because the tool is operated by a private company,” KUOW reports. Republicans want those votes not to count.

Spare us: Summer is not leaving us yet. Early September is blind to your pumpkin flavors and deaf to your desire to dress in layers. Sure, you may be suffering Summer wave of COVID, but the weather won't let you rest. Friday promises temperatures around 30 degrees. Saturday will stay hot at just over 25 degrees. On Sunday we can rest at just over 21 degrees.

Happy Friday! It's another warm September day here in Western Washington with a widespread risk of moderate heat. Areas along the coast will reach their highs early this afternoon as the pattern moves inland.

Stay cool, stay hydrated and stay safe!#wawx pic.twitter.com/k5QfOPcjiz

— NWSSeattle (@NWSSeattle) 6 September 2024

Hottest summer ever: Congratulations! We've broken another record for the hottest summer on record on planet Earth. If it looks like we've already broken that record, it's because we did—last year. While the summer of 2024 has surpassed the summer of 2023 as the hottest year on record, 2024 has yet to dislodge 2023 from its crown as the hottest year on record. But scientists are pretty sure that 2024 will easily overtake 2023 as the hottest year on record. This is what we're calling the new normal, baby. Climate change is in the driver's seat, and it's going full throttle.

Spare us once again: Praying Bremerton football coach Joe Kennedy has a new biopic coming out about how he got the football team to pray, got fired for it, and then was reinstated in his position last year after Donald Trump's Supreme Court appointments ruled that the separation of church and state doesn't really apply here. The good news is that this film is a very God is not dead-style Christian propaganda meets Hallmark Channel atmosphere. In other words: bad. It also says The average citizen.

Lunar volcanoes: Three tiny glass beads recovered from the lunar surface by a Chinese spacecraft hold evidence that not only were there volcanoes on the moon, but that they were erupting until about 120 million years ago. Scientists previously believed that the last volcanic eruptions on the moon occurred between 2 and 4 billion years ago. See, I didn't even know there were volcanoes on the moon at all, so this is all news to me. The three beads were part of the 3,000 rock samples examined by scientists. They were the only ones that showed signs of coming from volcanoes.

A really good movie trailer: Will Farrell's new film about a road trip with his girlfriend Harper after she comes out to him as transsexual seems to be something good for our souls and our mutual understanding as human beings.

Will Ferrell and his close friend, former SNL head writer Harper Steele, embark on a cross-country road trip after Harper comes out as a transgender woman in the documentary WILL & HARPER. In select theaters in September and on Netflix from September 27. pic.twitter.com/FULaHVuMkR

— Netflix (@netflix) 5 September 2024

Our blue bubble: According to the Seattle Newspaper“FYI, Guy: 55.5% of eligible adults in King and Snohomish counties identified themselves as Democrats or leaned Democratic. Only 18% identified themselves as Republicans. In a similar poll conducted around 2010, 49% of adults in those counties were Democrats and 26% were Republicans. An influx of new people in the 2010s and a post-Donald Trump America influenced these trends, muses FYI Guy.

Labor market report still not good: The employment report for August is better than July's, but things are still not looking good in the jobs sphere. In August, US employers added 142,000 jobs, up from a measly 89,000 in July. Unemployment fell from 4.3% to 4.2% in August. So things are moving slowly but possibly steadily. No reason to ring alarm bells, no reason to celebrate.

Father of Georgia shooter arrested: Colin Gray, 54, the father of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspect accused of using an AR-15 rifle to kill two students and two teachers and wound nine others at his Georgia high school, was arrested for “knowingly allowing” his son to possess a gun. Gray was charged with “four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of premeditated murder and eight counts of child abuse.” He told investigators he bought the gun as a Christmas present for his son. Months before that Christmas present, authorities had informed the Gray family that Colt Gray had made school shooting threats online.

First court date for the shooter: Colt Gray made his first court appearance on Friday. He remains in custody because his attorney has not requested bail. The judge scheduled another hearing for December 4. Because he is a minor, Gray does not face the death penalty, but he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

JD Vance has come to terms with this reality: After the Georgia shooting, the Cyborg, who ran for vice president on Trump's ticket, said school shootings are simply “a fact of life.” Vance told the crowd in Phoenix, “We don't have to like the reality we live in, but it's the reality we live in. We have to deal with it.” By “deal with it,” Vance doesn't mean making it harder to get guns or providing more mental health services. He wants to increase safety in schools.

Goodbye, Alex Morgan: 35-year-old football legend Alex Morgan announced his retirement from football on Thursday.

Thank you very much🫶 pic.twitter.com/8BkofVOh3s

– Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) 5 September 2024

REST IN PEACE: The Bellevue Art Museum announced its closure this week due to financial obstacles and low attendance. The museum and its canceled exhibitions closed the same day as the announcement.

Murder case in Idaho: The murder trial of Bryan Kohberger, the 29-year-old accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, has not yet begun. It likely won't begin until next June. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and there will be a death penalty hearing on November 7.

New Mexico places great importance on access to abortion: Construction is beginning on a state-funded reproductive health and abortion clinic in New Mexico. The clinic will serve local residents but also provide adequate care for people traveling there from restrictive states like Oklahoma and Texas.

Disney's adulthood has gone too far: Scott and Diana Anderson, an Arizona couple, paid $31,500 a year to become members of a secret dining club called Club 33 at Disneyland. They lived the Club 33 life. They spent $125,000 annually on travel, hotels and club fees to satisfy their Disney obsession. The Andersons rode the Haunted Mansion 1,000 times. Then they lost entry when Scott violated one of Club 33's cardinal rules — he was drunk in public near the entrance to California Adventure in 2017. Their Club 33 entry? Revoked. The Andersons sued. They spent a whopping $400,000 fighting for their right to Club 33. Scott claimed he wasn't drunk, but was suffering from vestibular migraines triggered by red wine. Those claims didn't hold up in court. On Tuesday, a court ruled against the Andersons. Diana said she would continue to fight. “I'll sell a kidney,” Diana said. “I don't care.”

A song for your Friday: You like rock n' roll? How about local Rock 'n' roll? I like this new song by Seattle band Bad Honey.